In a still from a recent campaign ad, U.S. Sen. Luther Strange discusses his work in Congress and alludes to the prosecution of former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard.(Photo: Strange for Senate)

As the Aug. 15 primary for U.S. Senate gets closer, the Advertiser will periodically look at advertising spots produced by the campaigns and the claims they make.

Title: “Drain the Swamp”

From: Strange for Senate

Length: 30 seconds

Summary: Sen. Luther Strange discusses his work in Congress and mentions the prosecution of former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, while Strange was Alabama attorney general.

Text: “Every day I work to follow the word of Jesus Christ and to stand for what’s morally right. I made powerful enemies fighting Montgomery corruption and convicting a corrupt House Speaker. Now those Never Trump insiders falsely attack me. I’m working with President Trump to drain the swamp, stopping illegal immigration with Jeff Sessions by building a wall. The NRA endorses my leadership protecting our Second Amendment. I’m no career politician. I won’t betray your trust, and I’ll fight for President Trump’s agenda every day.”

Context: Hubbard’s defense team spent the 18 months before the beginning of his trial questioning the motives of lead prosecutor Matt Hart, and at points criticized Strange. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Anniston, asked at an October 2014 news conference “who would like to get Mike Hubbard out of the picture or skin (him) up as a candidate?” The speaker's team managed to have the issue addressed in pretrial hearings, but Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker ultimately dismissed the accusations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Strange has come under criticism for accepting his U.S. Senate appointment in February from former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who his office was investigating at the time. Bentley in April pleaded guilty to two campaign finance violations and resigned. Tuscaloosa developer Stan Pate has purchased ads accusing Strange and Bentley of striking a deal to acquire the seat. Strange has said he accepted it to help President Donald Trump. Pate, then a supporter of the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., commissioned a skywriter to make anti-Trump messages at the 2016 Rose Bowl.

Claims: Strange recused himself from the Hubbard investigation in 2013 and said he was never directly involved in the case. In response to questions from the Hubbard team in 2015, Strange said he stepped away from the prosecution because he used Hubbard’s printing firm while running for attorney general in 2010.

His role in the Bentley investigation is not clear. Strange asked the Alabama House Judiciary Committee to suspend its impeachment investigation last November – long before Donald Trump’s election or the possibility of then-Sen. Jeff Sessions’ seat opening up – and when appointed to the seat last February declined to answer questions about the existence of an investigation.

Strange has won the endorsement of the National Rifle Association and introduced legislation to punish "sanctuary cities" that limit cooperation with federal authorities on immigration laws. Other Republican candidates also support gun rights and have tried to parrot Trump’s tough talk on immigration.

Whether Strange is a “career politician” or not, he's pursued a political career. Before accepting the U.S. Senate appointment, Strange won two elections for Alabama attorney general, and was the Republican nominee for Alabama lieutenant governor in 2006.

Summary: Several military veterans accuse U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, of voting to cut off funding for the fight against ISIS, due to votes the congressman took on proposals aimed at increasing congressional oversight of the conflict.

Text: (Brenda Horn, Cullman AL): “Mo Brooks said we can’t trust Donald Trump. You know what I don’t trust? Career politicians like Mo Brooks.” (Ray Dunn, Retired U.S. Navy): “I served my country. Mo Brooks? He voted to cut off funding to fight ISIS.” (Gray Keenum, Retired U.S. Army): “We fought for our freedom. Brooks? He fought to cut off funding.” (Daniel Killingsworth, Retired Alabama Army National Guard): “Brooks was playing politics.” (Dunn) “Siding with Nancy Pelosi and the liberals.” Killingsworth: “Instead of siding with us.” (Keenum): “Mo Brooks didn’t have my back, and he won’t get my vote.”

Context: Strange and McConnell’s PAC are trying to paint Brooks as a “career politician” (see previous ad) and have attacked the Huntsville congressman for comments he made about Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Claims: Brooks voted for Department of Defense funding bills in 2015 and 2016. The ad attacks his votes on amendments offered before the final vote. Congress currently uses 2001 and 2002 votes on military action in Afghanistan and Iraq as the legal basis for anti-terror military activities. Some Democrats and Republicans in the House want a new Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) resolution, saying the old one gives too much power to the executive branch. Supporters say a new AUMF will give Congress more powers to oversee overseas military action.

“If this is worth fighting – and I believe it is; I believe this ought to be authorized – it is worth having Congress do its job,” U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., one of the sponsors of the amendment in 2015, said on the floor before the vote. “If we are going to ask our service members to risk their lives, we ought to have the courage ourselves to make a vote on this war.”

The House defeated both measures. It also voted down a similar amendment brought last year by Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. Brooks supported all of them, but he wasn't the only Republican to do so. 33 Republicans voted for the Schiff amendment, and 14 voted for Lee's second one. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., voted for the two of the three measures Brooks supported – but U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., who is now Trump’s budget director, joined Brooks in voting for all three.

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